A Little Like This
by Red Pen Ninja
Summary: In which Cadence walks home in the rain, Shining Armor stands guard, and secrets are revealed.


**Le me attempting to start 2 multi-chapter MLP stories**

**Random plot bunnies hopping around in my head**

**Can never finish those either**

**Finally posting this**

**Yeah, I know. My system's screwed up, but hey, now I've got some loverly Shining Armor/Cadence fluff. They really ought to have a ship name…hmmm.**

**Anyway, I don't own the ponies blah blah blah.**

A Little Like This

As could be said about most teenagers, Cadence was forgetful. Even for the niece of the wise ruler of Equestria, things tended to slip from her memory and disappear into oblivion until she remembered at precisely the time that whatever she had forgotten could be useful.

For example, right now. She stood under the porch of the Sparkles' house, listening to the rain pound against the wooden roof and watching the light of the street lamps flicker off of the wet, dark ground. Her dreaded forgetfulness had struck again, this time affecting her need for an umbrella. She knew, of course, that she couldn't hide from the downpour and stay under the porch forever. No doubt that would make her seem creepy (even if she was a Princess) and she would most likely lose her favorite job. She could call for a carriage, but knowing the Royal Charioteers, it would take ages to arrive and she would have to retreat inside to use Mrs. Sparkle's messenger pigeon. Not that it would be that bad. Twilight's mother, forever nurturing and kind, would obviously be more than happy to let her use it. She was half-turned around and ready to knock when the interior lights of the homey, cozy house flicked off and the heavy clop of hooves thumped up the stairs to bed.

And just like that, Cadence was back to moping and desperately wanting her sun-controlling aunt to appear and blast these rainclouds right out of the sky. But it was late at night, probably a little past eleven, and the moon's reign had begun. Even though Aunt Celestia controlled both, she could not bend the laws of day and night just so Cadence could walk home in sunlight and without rain.

Alas, it seemed that there was only one thing to do: walk in the rain. She quickly calculated how many blocks it would be before she reached the Royal Family's district and her aunt's palace. Her unfortunate answer: seven. Lovely. With a sigh, she tugged the hood of her School for Gifted Unicorns sweatshirt up loosely over her mane and began a quick-paced, light trot over the wet streets.

The rain, fortunately, was a warm, gentle summer downpour. While heavy and unstoppable, it was better than walking in winter's icy storms. Warm droplets trailed down her snout and drenched her sweatshirt so it clung to her back. Although most of her mane was protected by the hood, some of it was too long and hung out of the hood's protection, making it wet, wavy and frizzy. Once, Aunt Celestia had told her that a mare's mane was at its best while wet or on the beach, but Cadence never found this to be true. Her own mane was wavy as it was and the rain seemed to make it look unkempt and as frizzy as Twilight's after a good, long nap. At least there was nopony around to see the Princess of Love at her worst.

That was a blessing indeed. She shuddered at the thought of Shining Armor seeing her in such a state. Twilight's older brother was a cadet at the Royal Guard's Academy and spent most of his time training, performing minor guard duties, or hanging with his Academy buddies. Although he lived in the dormitories and it had been a few weeks since Cadence had last seen the object of her affections, when he _was_ at home, he was strutting around in his gold and blue cadet's uniform and looking stunning. She fondly remembered when he still lived at home and would always be there to greet her. After Twilight went to bed, they would sit around and talk for hours until his parents came home and Cadence departed for the palace. But that was months ago and now Cadence seeing him was a true rarity. It was only because of her frequent foal-sitting at the Sparkle house that she saw him as often as she did, but soon her job there would be over, as Celestia herself would be taking Twilight in as her protégée next month.

Of course, it's not as though Shining Armor didn't try to see her. It was just that he was always so busy with training. Cadence had visited the Academy once with Aunt Celestia to inspect the new recruits and every cadet there was hard at work no matter where she went. Many Royal Guards she spoke to had mentioned that training was harder and more strenuous than the actual duties themselves. She couldn't blame Shining Armor either. His favorite uncle was Captain of the Royal Guard and she knew that he was dead set on filling that position one day too. In fact, that determination and strength made him all the more attractive to her.

The rain had drenched her to her core and she shuddered again from the chill. Yet, in her heart there was a vague sense of warmth. Just the thought of Shining Armor made her feel light and warm, the kind of warm when you sit in front of the fire after going out in the cold and you can feel it spreading all over you. She sighed contentedly and thanked Shining Armor, wherever he was, for making her feel better in the midst of all this rain.

_Two blocks down, five to go, _she thought with a slight smile, her mood much more improved than when she first started.

She rounded a corner and began making her way down the dimly lit street. Only two street lamps shone from the darkness, illuminating a tall, proud figure standing intimidatingly in front of a warehouse of some sort. Ah, yes, the Weaponry of the Academy. She had passed by it once or twice before and found that it was always being guarded, day or night, by one of the cadets. It was a little ridiculous, seeing as the only weapons at the academy were ceremonial or just for sparring, but General Arrowhead had pointed out that setting guards there 24/7 taught responsibility and loyalty, no matter how venial the position.

Squinting in the darkness, she attempted to make out the face of the guard. She recognized the bronze armor that marked the guard as a cadet instead of a true Royal Guard and noticed a long, thin unicorn horn jutting out from the headpiece. Before she could fully make out the face, a familiar, deep, kind voice called out to her.

"Cadence?"

_Oh no. _"Hey, Shining, uh, what's up?" _What's up? Gee, I dunno, just guarding stuff!_

"You know," Shining Armor shrugged, making his shoulder guards roll like tiny mountains. "Guarding the Weaponry. Why are you out here in the rain?"

She laughed half-heartedly, "I was foal-sitting for your sister and I forgot my umbrella so here I am."

She looked down at her drenched, frizzy mane that had become brokenly curled from the rain. Self-consciously, she tugged her hood tighter around her head.

Now it was Shining Armor's turn to laugh, "Why don't I help you with that?"

His horn blazed with magenta magic and cast a similarly colored shield above both him and Cadence. She looked up in confusion and grinned at the sight of the rain hammering against the makeshift umbrella rather than her.

"Oh my Celestia, thank you!" She could hardly contain herself as she threw her forelegs around Shining Armor's neck, crushing herself against his armor.

She felt his laugh rumble against her and she pulled away to see him flashing his radiant, proud smile at her. "No problem. Anything for you. Now, come on, I'll walk you home."

Cadence glanced at the Weaponry nervously, "But your post."

He sent her another signature smile, "I don't think General Arrowhead would mind if I walked you home. You're pretty important around here, you know."

For the first time all night, Cadence was grateful for the darkness of the night, as it hid her blush from Shining Armor's handsome blue eyes. They began trotting down the street together, the shield keeping them both dry and safe.

"Where did you learn how to do this anyway?" Cadence asked, gesturing to the shield above them.

"Captain Safeguard taught us. They call it a protection spell," the young cadet explained. "You never know when it might come in handy, even if Canterlot is practically _always_ safe."

"Who knows? Someday you might need it."

"Yeah, maybe. If I'm going to be the Captain of the Royal Guard someday, I ought to know it whether I ever use it or not," Shining Armor shrugged indifferently. "Anyway, how have you been, Cadence? I hardly get a chance to see you anymore."

"And now when you do see me, I look like this," she joked grimly, tugging at her oversized sweatshirt with disdain.

Shining Armor looked her up and down. "Actually, I sort of like it. You look…simply pretty. Like you weren't trying and it just happened. Besides, you look cute with your hood on and your mane messed up."

Usually, Cadence was protective of her mane and if anyone else had used "messed up" in a difference context and with less kindness, her defenses would rise and she would bite back. But instead, she was swooning over Shining Armor calling her pretty _and_ cute in the same minute.

"Th...Thanks," she spluttered, watching the light dance off of his perfectly polished armor. Attempting to gain her cool back, she said casually, "You know, that armor looks good on you."

Shining Armor puffed out his chest in mock, pompous pride, "Yes, all of the mares tell me that."

She shoved him gently, "Yeah, I bet."

He smirked down at her, "Jealous?"

"Oh, I'm _green_ with envy," she flashed him an equally evil smirk.

"There's no need for cruel sarcasm," he feigned being hurt. "I thought you liked me."

Cadence giggled, much akin to a young school filly. "Well of course I like you, Shiny. You're a great colt."

"That's good. Because you're an even better mare."

"Yes, I know," she responded, as pompous and proud as Shining Armor had been as she jutted her snout into the air regally.

"So Your Highness how have things been at the palace?"

"Pretty good," she let her nose drop back down to a regular, un-arrogant height. "You know, Twilight's coming to stay with my aunt next month."

He nodded gravely, "Yeah, I know. I mean, I know she's ready to go and she wants this, but I've been pretty worried. She's so small and timid."

"Yeah, but she'll be all right," Cadence assured him kindly. "Aunt Celestia will take care of her and teach her. Palace life is pretty great and you all can visit any time. Also, I'll be around sometimes so Twilight will have a familiar face."

Shining Armor nodded slowly, "That's what I keep reminding myself. I know I can't protect her forever, but…I sort of want to."

Cadence nuzzled the armor-less part of his neck softly, "That's so sweet. But you really don't have to worry, Twilight's smart. She'll be okay. And one day, when you're the Captain and Twilight's doing something great and smart and wonderful, you'll realize all that worrying wasn't needed."

Shining Armor rested his chin on her head thoughtfully, "I know. Thank you."

"What are friends for?" she smiled encouragingly, pulling away and beginning her slow, casual trot again.

She stopped and turned to see that Shining Armor was not following her. Instead, he was looking up at the moon, shrouded by the gray, crying clouds, but still unmistakably white and blinding amidst the gray surrounding it.

"Have you ever really thought about the moon? Just looked at it and saw all that it stands for?" he asked softly.

"What?" she countered, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

He laughed softly, "We were talking about Nightmare Moon last night and I thought of you, actually."

Cadence shrugged, "Aunt Celestia never talks about her. I know she was my aunt, but I wasn't there when the legend actually happened. Still, I don't think about her when I look at the moon. Actually, I think about quite the opposite."

"What's the opposite of Nightmare Moon?"

"Once upon a time, before Nightmare Moon, the moon stood for love and romance," she explained. "That's what I think of. Every time I read a romance novel, the romantic scene always happens at night."

"Well, duh," Shining Armor chuckled and waggled his eyebrow suggestively.

"Ugh, never mind," she rolled her eyes. "Pig."

"Hey, hey," he trotted to catch up with her. "Sorry. Anyway, that's nice, actually. Better than thinking about some scary old Princess."

"Thank you," she sniffed jokingly. She laughed, "Actually, we could make a game out of that. You know, what you think of when you look at something."

"Not bad, Princess," he gave her a playful nudge. "I'll go first. Hmm, when I look at…the statue of the Royal Guards I think of my uncle."

"When I look at that…" she trailed off, a bit embarrassed to continue.

"Go on. I won't judge."

"Fine. I think of you," she muttered in defeat.

"Aww, I'm honored," he told her sincerely, even though laughter played on his words.

"Yeah, yeah," she shrugged. "When I look at…Twilight I think of the stars."

"When I look at her, I think of my parents," he chuckled. "That one was slightly less interesting than the last one."

"Why? Did you like that I thought about you?"

"Maybe," he admitted with a shrug. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No. I just have one question. What do you think of when you look at me?"

"Pass."

"What?"

"We each get one pass. I passed," he explained as if this was the simplest thing in the world.

"No way. There's no passing in this game," Cadence argued. "If you tell me what you think of, I'll tell you what I think of when I look at you."

"Fine. When I look at you, I think about what it would be like to kiss you. There, happy?" Even in the dim light of the street lamps, his blush was obvious and bright.

"Yes, very. You want to know something weird?"

"Sure, why not?"

"When I look at you, I think about the same thing," she admitted quietly, now wearing a blush red enough to match Shining Armor's.

His blue eyes turned to her in disbelief and a small, incredulous smile formed on his face.

"Should we put those thoughts to rest?" he asked timidly, which was quite unusual for the usually confident and brash young soldier.

Before Cadence could even answer, let alone react, to his question, those wondering thoughts were indeed put to rest. His smooth, gentle lips pressed against hers rather forcefully, just as she had always imagined. She kissed him back, slowly at first as if testing the metaphorical waters, but eventually found herself not being able to control her want for Shining Armor and threw her forelegs around him to hold him even closer to her. He did the same, drawing her in as close as he possibly could and steadying her as he kissed her all the more passionately.

When they finally did separate, each gasping for breath and laughing with glee over achieving what both of them had desired for a long time now, they found that Shining Armor's protection spell was completely gone, leaving them to be drenched by the warm, summer rain.

"Oh well, I was soaked before the umbrella anyway," Cadence shrugged, too full of elation to care.

"We may as well be a cliché couple like in your books and walk and kiss in the rain," Shining Armor laughed, shaking his mop of a mane and spraying droplets all around him.

"So not only are we a couple now, we're a cliché couple?" Cadence questioned.

"Err, well, I mean…" he was cut off by a gentle, accepting kiss.

"I'll take that as a yes," Shining Armor was once again the proud and strong soldier that Cadence had ogled at for so long.

The two were so caught up in their newfound romantic bliss that they hardly noticed the great golden gates of the palace before them and the chuckling Royal Guards who stood waiting in front of them.

"Oh. We're here," Cadence said with disappointment obvious in her words.

"Yeah, I guess." Shining Armor agreed with equal displeasure.

"Hey, Armor, is she your fillyfriend?" One of the guards asked with a playful sneer.

Shining Armor recognized him as one of the drill sergeants at the Academy and answered with his usual confidence, "Yes sir, she is. Now, if you'll excuse me, sir."

He kissed her again, this time with longing and care to say goodbye. His lips lingered for a moment longer against hers, dragging out the kiss slowly and gently. As he pulled away, he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I'll skip tomorrow and meet you at the ballroom, okay?"

"What? No, go to training. We can see each other afterwards," she hissed in defiance.

"Even if I go, I'll only end up distracted by thinking of you. Just meet me at ten and we'll dance together. And maybe do some other stuff," his breath was warm against her ear and she found she couldn't resist.

"All right," she gave him a tender kiss on his cheek, her wet, wavy mane brushing against him. "See you then."

The guards opened the gate and Cadence trotted inside, looking over her shoulder often to catch a glimpse at Shining Armor. Each time, he would wave to her and smile. The farther away she got, the more he found his heart ached. Such was the bloom of first love and such was the pain of seeing that love walk away, even if it was only for a few hours.

"You're beautiful, Cadence," he murmured as she sauntered inside the great palace, ignoring the snickers of the guards. With his head held high and his heart light and overflowing with love and joy, he trotted lightly away, not caring at all about the rain that drenched him.

Cadence danced around the empty main hall of the palace, humming a romantic waltz to herself. Usually, the palace was never empty, but now, this late at night, it was barely lit and the smitten Princess had it all to herself.

She closed her eyes and swayed to the imaginary music, pretending that she was already at the ballroom tomorrow, with Shining Armor's forelegs around her in a warm, tender embrace. As she made her way to the grand staircase, she leaned against the door to Celestia's study and sighed in content.

As she sank against the hard wood of the door, she found that her support had suddenly disappeared and she fell to the cold marble floor with a crash. A confused Princess Celestia looked down on her niece with a furrowed brow.

"Were you leaning on the door?" she asked with an amused tone.

"Err, yes?"

Celestia helped Cadence to her hooves and then studied the dreamlike expression on her face.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's the face of somepony who's just been kissed! Now come on, tell me all about it!"

FIN.

**And that's that. I hope you liked it, but I'll only know if you review ;) I stole the title from that 3OH!3 and Ke$ha song, you know "my first kiss went a little like this". I'm just oh so original. Anyway, if you guys think I'm any good at writing the two of them, maybe this will grow into a collection of one-shots. You tell me. /]*[\**


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